In 2003, Chad was a landlocked nation in Central Africa, bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest and Niger to the west. It had an area of 1.284 million square kilometers, making it one of Africa’s largest countries. The population was estimated at 8.8 million people in 2003 with an average annual growth rate of 2.6%. The majority of Chadians were Sunni Muslims with a small Christian minority.
The economy of Chad was based on agriculture with some oil production and exports. Oil production began in 2003 when a pipeline connecting Chad’s Doba oil fields to terminal facilities in Cameroon became operational. Agriculture accounted for 40% of GDP and employed 80% of the labor force while oil production provided 20% of GDP and 8% employment but generated 90% of export revenue. Livestock raising was important for subsistence farmers in rural areas while most large-scale commercial farming took place in southern regions along rivers where irrigation could be used for crop production.
According to computergees, Chad faced numerous challenges during this period including poverty, poor infrastructure and health care systems as well as ongoing political instability due to civil war between government forces and rebel groups since 2005 which displaced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes into refugee camps or abroad as refugees or asylum seekers. In addition, environmental degradation due to overgrazing, deforestation and soil erosion were serious problems facing the country at this time as well as periodic droughts which led to food insecurity among large portions of Chad’s population. Despite these issues, however, Chad had made progress towards economic development by 2003 by increasing access to education through free primary schooling programs and improving access to health care services through expanding rural clinics across much of the country’s south region.
Yearbook 2003
Chad. In January, the government concluded a peace deal with the National Resistance Army, ANR, which was one of the most important rebel groups in the civil war and operated in eastern Chad. According to Countryaah.com, Chad Independence Day is August 11. The agreement immediately involved the cessation of fire and amnesty for all ANR soldiers and supporters. According to the government, the former rebels would be integrated into the national army or be helped to return to civilian life.
Despite last year’s peace agreement with the rebel group The Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT) continued during the year fighting in the northern part of Chad. In June, Moussa Faki Mahamat was appointed new Prime Minister.
During the year, Chad began pumping oil through an approximately 100-mile pipeline to Cameroon’s coast. Oil recovery in southern Chad is one of the most expensive industrial projects to date in the region and is expected to eventually account for nearly half of Chad’s state budget. The project has been paid for by the oil company ExxonMobil and the World Bank.
The Chad government has acknowledged that it has used large sums from the investment funds to buy weapons for the civil war. Now there is a law that states that 80% of oil revenues should be used to finance education, health care, environmental care, water projects and rural development. 5% of the revenue will go to the locals in the Doba area where the oil is extracted. Environmental organizations have criticized the oil project.
In 2012, the number of Sudanese refugees had risen to 281,000. They stayed in 12 camps in the eastern part of the country. In the south, the number of Central African refugees had risen to 79,000 and 120,000 internally displaced persons were added.
Prime Minister Nadingar resigned in January 2013. On the same day, President Débu Djimrangar Dadnadji appointed new Prime Minister. However, he only lasted 10 months. In November, MPs from the ruling party called for a distrust vote against him for “arbitrary arrest of MPs”. Later that day, he was replaced by Kalzeubet Pahimi Deubet.
In January 2013, Chad sent 2,000 soldiers to Mali to help France defeat AQIM, which had occupied 2/3 of the country. It increased the country’s reputation in the French government. In May, the government announced that it had unveiled and neutralized coup makers who had been preparing a military coup against the president for 5 months. Several officers and at least one opposition politician were arrested.
In March 2013, the insurgent coalition announced UFR, which had otherwise dropped its weapons in 2010, that it would resume the armed struggle, unless Débu entered into negotiations with them. In May, President accused Libya of allowing opposition groups to set up training camps there. It was rejected by Libya.
In March 2014, Chad was subjected to the periodic review of the human rights situation by the UN Human Rights Council. The council made 174 recommendations to the country, of which 119 were accepted. Amnesty International criticized the country for rejecting all of its key recommendations that included a ban on child soldiers, a ban on torture and mistreatment of prisoners, the suspension of arbitrary arrests and securing freedom of expression by halting the harassment of journalists and other media outlets.
In May 2014, President Débu visited the border with the Central African Republic and declared on that occasion that the border would be closed to refugees. More than 360,000 had already fled the Central African Republic – most to Chad and Cameroon. The closure of the border was sharply criticized by international human rights organizations. Chad had himself had troops in the Central African Republic as part of the AU’s peacekeeping force, but they were withdrawn in April after justified criticism of their uncontrolled use of violence against civilians.
Republic of Chad Brief Guide
According to AbbreviationFinder, Chad is an inland state in Central Africa bordering northern Libya, eastern Sudan, southern Central African Republic, southwestern Cameroon and Nigeria, and Niger to the west.